Wednesday, 20 June 2012

Can't believe it's Wednesday already! First of all I would like to welcome some new followers - Thank You for taking the time out to read about my rather hectic journey in life!

Secondly many apologies for not making round everyone's desks last week, there were just too many and i simply ran out of hours ... *sighs*.... it's not going to be much better this week either, My son is 18 on Friday and I have 'things' to organise.... muhahahah ... !

Anyway, if you are wondering if I've lost the plot by showing you my my creative space then pop over to JULIA'S PLACE to see what it's all about! you'll love it!!

My desk this week has been caught in a mid mini tidy up! I had just finished that Collage canvas - see HERE for a better look if you are interested..... so I was tidying away the paints and 'stuff' when I remembered what day it was!! So I just took that photo while I was at it!

I am going to take a couple of days off from crafting because I NEED to do the dreaded h*******k !! My place looks like a small thermo-nuclear device has exploded in it! It would be a whole lot easier if I could get rid of this 'stuff' I'm storing for my soon-to-be-ex-husband though...*sighs* ... I have the hairdressers tomorrow, and an appointment of Friday....then off out with the teenager on Friday night for his birthday (did i mention that already?) lol..... he didn't want a 'big do' because he would like the money I would have spent on that put towards his provisional driving licence.... and who said teenagers were selfish.... I thought that was a pretty sensible idea and one i am more than willing to go along with! His mates will probably all take him out 'clubbing' for a night to celebrate anyway....so it's just basically going to be a night in the pub with me and 'him' (ID card arriving on time permitting)!... lol... (poor kid doesn't know what he's in for)!!!lol..

Tuesday, 19 June 2012

I so wish I could have taken a better photo of this piece because there are so many different layers and textures on this piece! This photo just doesn't do it justice!

Anyway, it's done on a 10 inch by 12 inch canvas board, using magazine images, lots and LOTS of Gesso and acrylics along with some spray inks, die cuts and some odd bits of lace.

I saw this image in a magazine and loved it, so I tore it out and ran it through a Cuttlebug embossing folder then stuck it down onto the board using Gesso, added some mixed browns acrylic paint an more Gesso then stuck down some Alterations die cuts, mainly Vintage lace trim and also the Mannequin dress from, just slabbered <----- technical term that....lol...over some more acrylics and gesso with my fingers. did some random imperfect stamping then added some more die cuts, this time Tattered Florals, these were cut from a mesh fabric and look great when stuck down. again I just slabbered on some acrylics over the top. I also added an off cut of some old beaded lace which was white but I added some mixed browns and copper metallic acrylics to blend it in. I randomly rubbed over some Copper acrylic paint to try and highlight some of the the textures.

Hopefully here are a couple of close ups of some of the textures.....

The phrase was downloaded from the Internet and just handwritten onto an old torn book page. I distressed the wording with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink and then stuck the phrase down onto the board.

I am really pleased with this piece because it's my first proper attempt at collage!

Sunday, 17 June 2012

Yes another one! lol.....I actually managed to be on time with this one!!

Over on The Art Journal Cafe The challenge this time is a Colour one! I'm not really very happy with this because I screwed up in the middle of one of the pages hence the stupid position of the VW Camper van! So I ended up improvising slightly, I guess I just got 'put off' a little. Still I've managed to cover the challenge and use what was asked for so it's turned out not too bad in the end!

That's one of the good things about journaling... if you DO screw up it doesn't matter too much....you always have it to look back and learn what NOT to do! It IS fun just playing with all the new techniques and thrying them out though.

Saturday, 16 June 2012

Over on the Art Journal Cafe blog The challenge at the start of this month was Technique! ( I'm a bit behind lol)
Multiple layers of colour, collage and dimension! So me being me and REALLY in the mood for playing I used them all!

I started off by glueing some book pages to my journal pages, then gave them all a 'plastering with Gesso! Wanted as much 'texture' as I could manage with such runny Gesso. When dried I mixed up and added a coat of acrylic paint, when this was dried, I mixed up yet more paint, this time in reds, white and Gesso and painted round the edges of the pages, leaving the centres of the pages 'blank'. When this was dry, I then 'dry' brushed through some sequin waste, added some stamping (the ink blots) and then used some lids off a coffee jar and a bead storage container to give me the hollow circles! I also used an old debit card to give me the white and teal 'lines' .

I put the whole thing aside to dry and then started work on the heart, which was done by drawing around the lid of a heart shaped box. I covered the whole thing in Gesso roughly to give me texture, dried it off with a heat gun and then mixed up some Deep Red and Burnt Umber acrylic paint gave the heart a coat of paint but wiped some of it off with a baby wipe so you could see the texture underneath. I dried it off and stuck it to the journal page, blended it using what was left on my pallet along with some Gesso, then edged it with some doodles!

Here is a close up of the heart so you can see some of the texture ....

The wording on the opposite page is just drawn very roughly and then coloured in using a black fine liner, I use a heart shape instead of the letter " o " just to theme it in a bit.

The edges are done using the 'waste' from The Vintage Lace Alterations die, I just doodled some hanging hearts and white dots to finish it off a little. The Keyhole and Key are again an Alterations die cut, i just painted them using some burnt umber and teal to give a slightly 'rusty' look. I edged them with a gold marker to make them stand out a little.

I've had an absolute blast doing these pages today! thoroughly enjoyed my playtime and can't wait to have a go at the next challenge, which is up on the above website now!

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

Picture the scene ...... laptop open and I'm blogging..... cat curled up on the sofa next to me and purring VERY loudly, a gallon of steaming hot coffee and total silence..... all ready to go for a trip around the world for the phenomenonononon....that is What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday run by the fantastic MRS DUNNIT over at HER PLACE ! So why not pop over and have a wee look to see what I'm on about! It'll be fun and it's a GREAT excuse or not getting any housework done! :P lol...

The scene earlier on this morning was NOT so 'heavenly' though.....there I was at 8 a.m. in my big purple fleecy dressing gown, head like a hedgehog on steroids (don't ask because I don't know, but you get the idea) lol and not a tooth in my head!! Was answering the door to my son's mate! They both have a second interview (skills test this time) for a place they applied for at College, they wanted to get away early because the Olympic torch is coming into Falkirk today and the traffic will be horrendous!! Trust me when I say that the Wicked Witch of the North looked a helluva lot better than I did!! lol....I was NOT a pretty sight! lol

Anyway I digress somewhat!... On my ...erm...shall we say ..'creative space' this week lol...A gorgeous ATC that was done for the 3rd WOYWW birthday swap! And I have to say it is just gorgeous!! Very cleverly done and i love it!! So THANK YOU KAREN aka Ink, Paper and Scissors! ...

Here's a close up of the cleverness.....

I just adore those 'mini polaroids' of my workdesk!! THAT is such a great touch! Got to figure out how that lettering was embossed though....that's just so cool!! And I have to say that I love the lovely card that came with it too...all the way from Canada too... :D

The other fancy wee ATC is from Mrs D aka Julia and had the WOYWW badge attatched! I love this little piece! How she managed to see that 'teensy totsie' wee man to stick him onto that card is beyond me lol...but he is ever so 'cute'!

Here's a close up ...

Cool innit?!! ....

I have another ATC to come yet but that's 'winging' it's way from America so it will take a bit longer. which I don't mind. I have actually managed to POST OFF MY ATC'S at long last long! .... so to my 'swap' partners....they are on their way to you and hopefully they won't be too long in getting to you! Once again I am so sorry for the delay.

The other 'stuff' on my desk.... is well.... just the usual creative stuff...my art journal, which I actually managed to get a couple of 'dark' pages done for, (needed to vent a little) ... a big 'bits and bobs' journal that I use for practicing ideas, and as you can see I'm in the middle of some 'tangling'! ....and piles of other 'stuff' that I've just been too plain lazy to put away lol...

So there you have it.... I completely disobeyed Julia's rules to keep this post short and sweet this week.... lol...So I am now procrastinating on whether or not to mow my lawn, the sun is actually shining but seeing as I'm in Scotland it won't be for long lol...it is to be raining tomorrow and my lawn is currently looking like the local farmer's meadow!! Wonder if he would lend me a sheep!! lol...

Thursday, 7 June 2012

Right, something a wee bit different from me today......JOE BROWNS are running a fab competition for a chance to win £250 worth of clothes ! ( I could spend a lot more than that there trust me)!! Anyway, all you have to do is choose an outfit for "The School Run" Simple huh?.... NOT! It's Joe Browns for heaven's sake!! And you can tell that it's where I buy my clothes! I love the uniqueness and individuality of thier clothes.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a "Dedicated follower of fashion" and tend to wear what I like and I dress for ME. I simply don't care what other people think!

Now I haven't done a school run in years simply because my "wee boy" is all grown up now and will be 18 in a couple of weeks, he's just finished 6th year at high school and will hopefully be moving on to college in August! (still waiting to hear if he has a place or not).

So I'm posting this simply because I just LOVE this outfit!! Simple as that!!

First of all..... these ...

They are the AWESOME FIT JEANS and they do 'exactly as it says on the tin' They fit awesomely!! <<<<< new word?... lol... I have a pair of these and they are just fab! Must get another pair! They are soooo comfy!

So there you have it!!....A really pretty and I think 'functional' outfit that doesn't really need to be worn just for the school run....would do just as well for a casual dinner date too ! (I wish) lol

Thank you for dropping by and letting me give the cool peeps at Joe Browns the most blatant of 'plugs' and just letting me ramble on a bit!

I started off by colouring the Art part with Wild Honey Distress stain, the over stamped it the Dots background stamp in Fired Brick Distress ink. Used a hot glue gun to glue all the pieces together and then set it aside to 'set'!

The Jar and Pocket watch were stamped onto chipboard shapes to match the stamps and were done as follows..

I coloured the jar with Faded Jeans Distress ink then stamped the jar image over the top. I then triple embossed with clear embossing powder, but I added just a teensy bit of white powder to it because I wanted a 'pitted' look to the 'glass'. The Watch and Light Bulb were done in exactly the same way only using different colours!

I cut out the cogs with the Alterations Gadget Gears from Grunge board which was coloured using Bottle Green, Terracotta and Gold to them a 'rusted' look.... the tiny gears are cut from shrink plastic and shrunk down, they were also coloured using Alcohol inks.

I just added a few embellishments to finish off, the chain for the pocket watch and a couple of hat pins on the flower!

Despite the fact that I had numerous interruptions with this piece I am thrilled with the way it's turned out!

So with that I am going to chill in front of the TV with a good movie and a hot mug of coffee.

Well what can I say.....not much really (makes a change for me lol ) ... Been running about like a headless chicken all week and seem to have got nowhere or got anything done! ... I STILL haven't managed to get into town to post off my ATC'S yet... *sighs* ... So with a little bit of bossing the world around I can maybe tell it to stop and let me off so I can have some 'me' time to get 'stuff' ' done for myself!!!

If you want to know what I'm blethering on about then pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground for the fantastic worldwide bloghop and have a round the world trip for free! :D oh... and make a tea/coffee and enjoy!!

Anyway...on my desk is a project I started last week sometime...just kept getting interrupted and couldn't get on with it....it's still a WIP (work in progress) , it's coming together nicely though and hopefully I'll have a little time to get it finished in the next couple of days!

Sorry (or not lol) that it's a bit short and sweet this week but I have to make like a headless chicken and dash!!

About Me

Single parent to a grown up son. Just finished HND Diploma in Contemporary Art Practice at my local college.
Love all the grungy style. Anything to alter and I'm in heaven! Also love mixed media as I love experimenting and playing around with different products.
Am a mad keen Iron Maiden fan too so a bit of a metalhead and old school rocker.